chapter 14 - labor relations (15 mc, 2 sa) Flashcards
three primary phases of the labor relations process: ORGANIZING
Steps in the organizing process:
- Union/employee contact
- Who typically initiates contact?? - Initial Organizational Meeting
- meeting to determine fit with union
- assess interest level of employees - Formation of In-house Organizing Committee
- Solicit employees to take on leadership role in the organization process
- Main goal: getting authorization cards signed
- Authorization card – card signed by ees indicating their interest in being represented by a union - Election Petition and Voting Preparation
- Need 30% employees targeted for representation (called the “bargaining unit”) to sign the cards in order to petition NLRB to hold a certification election
- No certification election for same group of EEs has taken place in the past 12 months - Certification Election
- Once the NLRB approves the petition to hold an election, a secret ballot election on the ER’s property at the earliest available date
- Simple majority determines the outcome (50% + vote) under Wagner Act (NLRA)
three primary phases of the labor relations process: BARGAINING (NEGOTIATING)
Bargaining Unit:
- Group of two or more jobs whose employees share common employment interests and may reasonably be grouped together for purposes of collective bargaining
- ER and Union don’t usually agree on which employees should be included in the bargaining unit
- To get a collective bargaining agreement (contract) passed, what should the employees look like?
three primary phases of the labor relations process: CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION
Rights Arbitration - Another type of arbitration occurs during contract administration
–> Occurs when a third party neutral is asked to interpret the meaning of the contract and rule on employee grievances
Extremely common in both public and private sectors
ANOTHER CARD EXPLAINS TYPICAL LABOR CONTRACT CLAUSES
typical labor contract clauses
Typical Labor Contract clauses will cover:
Wages
Vacations
Holidays
Work schedules
Management rights
Union security
Transfers
Discipline
Grievance procedures
No strike/no lockout clause
Overtime
Safety procedures
Severance pay
Seniority
Pensions and benefits
Outsourcing
reasons for decline in union membership
Reasons for the decline in unionization:
- Majority of new job creation is occurring in small organizations (100 or less employees – 3% of small ERs are unionized)
- Change in workforce demographics – unions doing better here narrowing male v. female unionization rates
- Increasing use of part time EEs (unionized at half the FT rate – 11.1% FT v. 6.1% PT)
- Legislation which protects employee rights and benefits
- Ability to use permanent replacement workers during strike
- Shift from manufacturing to high tech/service jobs – unions starting to make progress here
- Globalization/ offshoring of jobs
- Right-to-work laws (see later slides for this discussion)
railway labor act (RLA) or 1926
Purpose of the act was to avoid service interruptions resulting from disputes between railroads and their operating unions due to impact on economy/interstate commerce
First major piece of LR legislation
Covers employees in the railway industry (airlines added in 1936)
Bargaining is very complex under RLA – Contracts don’t expire, one party issues notice they want the terms renegotiated to start the process, it takes multiple years to complete
Established mandatory mediation during bargaining disputes via the National Mediation Board
Instituted a 30-day cooling off period (ordered by the President of the US) during bargaining disputes and if necessary, a Presidential Emergency Board to recommend terms to attempt to settle dispute
Established National Railway Adjustment Board as enforcement agency for RLA
national labor relations act (NLRA) -aka- Wagner Act
Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) of 1935:
- Covers most all private sector organizations (besides airlines and railway industries)
- Protects employee rights to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice
- Created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to govern labor relations in the United States and enforce labor law
wagner act (NLRA) Section 7 and Section 8
Wagner Act (NLRA) – Section 7 Rights Pro-union… Wagner Act Section 7 of the Act guarantees these rights:
- The right to form, join, or assist labor organizations and bargain collectively
- The right to engage in collective bargaining activities (strikes, pickets, etc.)
Wagner Act (NLRA) – Section 8: Employer Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) Pro-union
Section 8: Employer ULPs: This section of the Wagner Act outlawed employer practices as illegal:
- Interference with employees’ rights to unionize
- Supporting a particular union over another
- Discrimination against union members
- Discharge of employees because they file a ULP charge
- Refusal to bargain in good faith with the union
unfair labor practices (ULPs) UNDER NLRA SECTION 8 - MANAGEMENT/EMPLOYER
Wagner Act (NLRA) – Section 8: Employer Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) Pro-union
Section 8: Employer ULPs
This section of the Wagner Act outlawed employer practices as illegal:
- Interference with employees’ rights to unionize
- Supporting a particular union over another
- Discrimination against union members
- Discharge of employees because they file a ULP charge
- Refusal to bargain in good faith with the union
union ULPs (under Taft-Hartley Act)
Taft-Hartley - Unfair Union Labor Practices (ULPs) - Section 8: Union ULPs
REMEMBER SECONDARY VS PRIMARY IN LABOR RELATIONS
This section outlawed the following UNION practices as illegal:
1. Coercion of ees to join unions
2. Asking employers to discriminate against ees based on union status
3. Charging excessive or discriminatory membership fees
4. Defined prohibited activities on the part of unions – e.g., secondary boycotts, featherbedding
5. Refusing to bargain in good faith with the employer
secondary vs primary in labor relations
Secondary in labor relations terms means ILLEGAL because you involved a 3rd party who shouldn’t have been. (don’t do business with Vons, they sell Dole Fruit. Fruit union sucked Vons into this) Primary is LEGAL.
national labor relations board (NLRB)
Enforcement agency for all labor law besides Railway Labor Act – (like the EEOC is to EEO law)
Primary duties:
1. Investigate/remedy Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges
2. Conduct union certification elections
taft-hartley act
& right-to-work laws
Taft-Hartley Act (1947) - Pro-management
- Amendment to Wagner (NLRA) twelve years after Wagner was passed
- Problem: Wagner Act helped unions TOO much and caused them to be too powerful relative to ERs
- Pro-Management legislation
- Established Union ULPs (amended Section 8 of NLRA)
- Once a year limit on certification elections
- Closed shop illegal – (where it would be necessary to be a union member to be in the applicant pool to get a job)
- Gave states permission to pass Right-to-Work Laws – (RTW essentially prohibits mandatory union membership in a state)
- Amended Section 7 Rights of NLRA (see next slide)
taft-hartley section 7 amendment
Taft-Hartley Section 7 amendment
Adds the following language to Section 7 rights:
- The right to refrain from joining or participating in collective bargaining activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment
- In some states it is prohibited to mandate union membership – What is this state legislation called?
landrum-griffin act of 1959
Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959:
- Amendment to Wagner (NLRA) twelve years after Taft-Hartley amendment was passed in response to union corruption of the 1950s
- Govt. stepped in and started to regulate union business/internal union affairs
- Mandated that unions must file yearly financial statements with the Department of Labor (as an external auditor)
- Established “Bill of Rights of Union Members”
Members may… - participate in union business
- vote in union elections
- run for union offices
- Sue the union
differences between RLA and Wagner (NLRA) —
winning a certification election under RLA v. NLRA;
FOCUS ON #2 (NOT 1 OR 3) WHICH IS CERTIFICATION ELECTIONS
(ON EXAM LOOK AT NOTES FOR THIS SPECIFICALLY)
Differences Between RLA and Wagner (NLRA) - ON EXAM –>
1. Coverage
RLA - railway & airlines
NLRA - all other private employers
2. Certification elections
RLA - Union must win majority of eligible voters
NLRA - Union needs majority of those who voted
–> Scenario: 500 eligible ees, 300 voted - 240 for union, 60 against unionization.
Under RLA was the union certified?
NO. they needed 251 of the 500 votes of eligible EES
Under NLRA was the union certified?
Yes they had majority of the votes
3. Work stoppages
RLA - Union can’t strike and ER can’t lock out until all impasse resolution procedures have been expended (mediation, arbitration, multiple cooling off periods, presidential emergency board to recommend terms for settlement)
NLRA - once contract expires everything is fair game
ways a union can be recognized and
obtain exclusive bargaining agent status
(LOOK AT MOTES)
Ways a union can be recognized:
- Win a certification election (Once a union wins, it has exclusive bargaining agent status for one year)
- Voluntary recognition
- NLRB grants the union recognition
Duty of Fair Representation:
If Union wins A CERTIFICATION ELECTION UNDER NLRA, it becomes the exclusive bargaining agent of all ees in the bargaining unit via the Duty of Fair Representation:
The union has the legal right and responsibility to represent ALL bargaining unit members equally, regardless of whether employees in the bargaining unit join the union or not
Duty of Fair Representation/exclusive bargaining
agent status
Duty of Fair Representation:
If Union wins A CERTIFICATION ELECTION UNDER NLRA, it becomes the exclusive bargaining agent of all ees in the bargaining unit via the Duty of Fair Representation:
The union has the legal right and responsibility to represent ALL bargaining unit members equally, regardless of whether employees in the bargaining unit join the union or not
mandatory, permissive and illegal issues (ON EXAM)
Bargaining Subjects:
Mandatory subjects – subjects that if one party wants to bring up in negotiations, the other party must negotiate over it
- Subjects dealing with wages, hours, and working conditions
Permissive subjects – subjects that either side is free to bring up, but the other side is not mandated to negotiate over it (both sides must agree to let the subject come on to the table)
- Anything other than wages, hours, and working conditions
Illegal subjects – subjects that violate law and would be a ULP to try to get onto the negotiation table
- Asking ER to discriminate against women, asking for a closed shop provision in the CBA, featherbedding, etc.
mandatory vs. permissive distinction (ON EXAM)
Two questions to ask:
1. Does the issue effect the terms and conditions of employment of current BU members?
Current BU members → mandatory
Anyone else → permissive
EX: Bargaining subject: Medical benefits for retirees → Permissive
2. Does the issue relate to management’s decision making authority or to the impact of the decision on employees?
Management’s authority → permissive
Impact of decision on employees → mandatory
EX: Bargaining subject: Change in technology → Permissive
EX: Layoffs due to technology change → Mandatory
power tactics in collective bargaining
- strikes
- Strikes have been on the decline since 1975
- 90-95% of CBAs (collective bargaining agreements) end without a work stoppage
- We lose 10X as many work days to injuries/ accidents than to strikes
5 types of strikes:
1. Economic strike
2. Wildcat strike
3. Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike
4. Secondary strike
5. Sympathy strike
power tactics in collective bargaining
- economic strikes
Economic Strike – Work stoppage to put pressure on management during negotiations once the contract expires
- Employers may replace strikers on a permanent or temporary basis
- Can’t fire striking employees but you can replace them
- Strikers have “recall rights” to their jobs once their jobs come open if they were permanently replaced
- Scenario: 500 ees in the bargaining unit go on strike:
–> 200 striking ees are permanently replaced
–> 125 striking ees are temporarily replaced - How many ees who went out on strike get their jobs back immediately upon the end of the strike?
power tactics in collective bargaining
- wildcat strikes
Wildcat Strike – Impromptu strike unauthorized by union during an active collective bargaining agreement (in defiance of union)
- Typically there is a no-strike clause in the CBA (or a grievance procedure which is a de facto no-strike clause)
- Management can fire employees who engage in a wildcat strike and may sue the union for damages
- Example: American Airlines pilots staged a “sickout” in the early 2000’s to protest how recently acquired pilots from a small airline would be merged into the seniority system – ruled a wildcat “strike” and the union was fined $10 million for damages for AA lost business for the 3-4 days of flight cancellations (union subsequently went bankrupt and dissolved)
power tactics in collective bargaining
- ULP strikes
ULP Strike – Work stoppage precipitated by an ER ULP or an economic strike that is extended because of an ER ULP
- If ER committed a ULP, employees can only be temporarily replaced during ULP strike (they have immediate reinstatement rights)
- Example 1: Union strikes because the employer is not bargaining in good faith – it is a ULP strike
- Example 2: The contract has expired so the union goes out on an economic strike, while on strike the ER fires some of the strikers…Now it is labeled a ULP strike
–> What if management had hired permanent replacements while it was labeled an economic strike?? ITS OK
power tactics in collective bargaining
- secondary strikes
Secondary Strike – Work stoppage by ees who have no dispute with their employer but are striking to support another union – Legal or Illegal?
Burger Flipper Union members are on strike because of a negotiation impasse with Burger King, if McDonald’s employees walked off the job to support their burger flipper brothers at BK, that would be a secondary strike
power tactics in collective bargaining
- sympathy strikes
Sympathy Strike – Work stoppage by a group of ees in support of their co-workers who are currently in a negotiation impasse with their employer (both groups of employees work for the same ER) – Legal or illegal?
Pilots for American Airlines go on strike, flight attendants decide not to cross the picket line to support their co-workers
permanent v. temporary
replacements during different types of strikes
economic: Employers may replace strikers on a permanent or temporary basis
Can’t fire striking employees but you can replace them
Strikers have “recall rights” to their jobs once their jobs come open if they were permanently replaced
wildcat: Management can fire employees who engage in a wildcat strike and may sue the union for damages
ulp: If ER committed a ULP, employees can only be temporarily replaced during ULP strike (they have immediate reinstatement rights)
secondary: IS ILLEGAL REMEMBER THIS! Burger Flipper Union members are on strike because of a negotiation impasse with Burger King, if McDonald’s employees walked off the job to support their burger flipper brothers at BK, that would be a secondary strike
sympathy: Work stoppage by a group of ees in support of their co-workers who are currently in a negotiation impasse with their employer (both groups of employees work for the same ER) – LEGAL as long as they don’t obstruct business
lockouts
Lockout – management’s primary weapon against union’s ability to strike
Locking out employees to put pressure on the union to make concessions in bargaining
- Employers can hire temporary replacements only
- Why only temporary and not permanent replacements?
primary vs secondary boycott
Primary Boycott – Direct appeal to consumers not to purchase “struck goods” – i.e., don’t do business with company the union is currently having a dispute with – Legal
** e.g., Dole Fruit Co and the Fruit Workers Union (FWU) are at an impasse in negotiations so the FWU asks consumers not to buy Dole fruit products
Secondary Boycott – Illegal (as noted by Taft Hartley) – Asking consumers not to buy goods/services from a neutral employer not involved in the labor dispute – ILLEGAL
**e.g., Dole Fruit Co and the Fruit Workers Union (FWU) are at an impasse in negotiations so the FWU asks consumers not to shop at Albertson’s because they sell Dole fruit
interest arbitration (resolving bargaining deadlock)
Interest Arbitration – having a third party neutral make the final decision for the two parties in contract negotiation
- Primarily used in public sector labor disputes when striking is prohibited or restricted
- Very powerful position to be the ultimate decision maker
mediation (resolving bargaining deadlock)
Mediation – third party neutral comes in and acts as a facilitator between the two parties
- Very commonly used in labor disputes (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service— govt agency that supplies mediators)
rights arbitration (resolving bargaining deadlock)
Rights Arbitration - Another type of arbitration occurs during contract administration
- Occurs when a third party neutral is asked to interpret the meaning of the contract and rule on employee grievances
- Extremely common in both public and private sectors
union security clauses - CLOSED SHOP
Union Security Agreements (98% of CBAs)
Union security agreements (shop clauses) attempt to make membership in the union a condition of employment
Closed shop – must be in the union to be employed – Where is this legal? (LOOK AT RIGHT TO WORK LAWS AND MAP)
union security clauses - UNION SHOP
Union shop – BU employee must join the union within 30 days of employment or be terminated – Where is this legal?
union security clauses - AGENCY SHOP
Agency shop – BU employees must pay membership dues to the union (usually a reduced rate) but are not required to join the union – Where is this legal?
CWA v. Beck (1988) - Limited the amount of fees that union can charge non-union members (only costs of negotiation and grievance handling not costs associated with organizing new union members or political uses
right to work laws (rtw)
Right-to-work (RTW) Laws: Union security agreements (shop clauses) attempt to make membership in the union a condition of employment
- A RTW law is a state law that prohibits any form of compulsory union membership
- Typically located in the South and West
- Currently 28 states are RTW states
Arguments for RTW:
- Makes unions more responsive to its members by making membership voluntary
- RTW laws encourage job creation in RTW states
Arguments against RTW:
- “Free rider problem” caused by the Duty of Fair Representation
- Lower average wages paid in RTW state
union security clauses - MAINTENANCE OF MEMBERSHIP SHOP
Maintenance of Membership shop – Requires that ees who voluntarily join the union remain union members throughout the life of the collective bargaining agreement – Where is this legal?
union security clauses - OPEN SHOP
Open Shop – Employees are not required to join a union as a condition of employment – Where is this legal?
union security clauses - DUES CHECKOFF
Dues Checkoff – additional provision (not a shop clause but helps the union collect its dues)
Agreement that the employer will withhold union dues from the paychecks of union members who agree (in writing) to such a deduction
which shop clauses (ALL)
are legal/illegal in right to work states
LEGAL IN RTW STATES
- open
- dues
- maintenance
ILLEGAL IN RTW STATES
- closed
- union
- agency
